Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"Baka! How is this possible? How is this possible..." Itagaki Seishiro cursed, repeating "How is this possible?" twice, his voice trembling.

The telegram stated that Yamamoto's special attack team had lost contact and had most likely been ambushed by the enemy.

Aside from Kishin's troops, probably no other unit would dare to ambush Yamamoto's special attack team.

"Division Commander, when I received the telegram, I couldn't believe it either. I even sent a telegram to Yamamoto's special attack unit, but I didn't get a reply."
"This means that what Division Commander Tani Hisao said is most likely true," said the Japanese brigade commander. He only dared to believe it after confirming that he could not contact Yamamoto's special attack team.

"Damn it!!! I never imagined the enemy's true objective would be the Yamamoto Special Attack Corps! I should have known!"

Now that the enemy knows of this unit's existence, how could they possibly let it go unchecked! Itagaki Seishiro gritted his teeth in anger, realizing he had been too careless.

They didn't consider the possibility that the enemy would target Yamamoto's special attack force. In fact, they mainly thought that the enemy attacking the 33rd Brigade was the only one that mattered. But they were overthinking it.

"What should we do now?!" the Japanese brigade commander asked.

The Yamamoto Special Attack Corps was the ace unit for dealing with that Northeast Army. Without them, it would have been much more difficult to annihilate that Northeast Army.

"The only option now is to send another brigade to participate in the encirclement operation, and at the same time, we must also mobilize the puppet troops to participate!" Itagaki Seishiro said slowly.

He worried that without the assistance of Yamamoto's special forces, they would not be able to eliminate the enemy even if they were surrounded. Therefore, the only way to stop the enemy was to use their numerical advantage. Only in this way could they possibly annihilate the enemy.

"Division Commander, actually I think we should just let it go and let them withdraw, otherwise our losses will be even greater," the Japanese brigade commander said hesitantly.
The 33rd Brigade is still in danger, and the Yamamoto Special Attack Unit is gone. It will be extremely difficult for them to annihilate this Northeast Army.

Moreover, it wasn't just that Northeast Army unit there; the New First Regiment, the Independent Regiment, and the 358th Regiment were also there.

These people totaled more than 20,000. He felt that the probability of annihilating them all was too small, and it would be easier to cause more casualties.

"Never mind?! They only have a few thousand people now, and they've already caused us such huge losses. What will it take to wipe them out when they grow to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands?!" Itagaki Seishiro retorted.

Giving up the encirclement of the enemy now may allow them to stop their losses in time, but this is only a short-term measure. In the long run, they must annihilate Mu Jin's army, otherwise the difficulties will be even greater in the future.

"This..." The Japanese brigade commander fell silent. He hadn't thought that far ahead. After hearing what the division commander said, he realized that the division commander was right.

"Besides, even if we ignore them now, do you think they'll give up?! They'll definitely take the opportunity to annihilate our troops one by one."

How many people do you think will die or be injured?!

"At that time, we will be the ones who are passive, but now, if we send people to surround them, we can still have the opportunity to take the initiative!" Itagaki Seishiro analyzed.

Passive and active, though differing by only one word, are worlds apart.

"Don't forget, the Eighth Route Army is also eyeing us covetously. If these two forces join forces, the consequences will be unimaginable! Therefore, we must seize this opportunity, even if the losses are great, we must not give the enemy the chance to annihilate our troops one by one!" Itagaki Seishiro analyzed the situation very clearly.

There is only one goal: no matter what the cost, we must surround and annihilate Mu Jin's army. Even if we cannot annihilate them, we must inflict heavy casualties on the enemy so that they can live a peaceful life in the future.

"The division commander is right; I hadn't considered things thoroughly," the Japanese brigade commander quickly nodded in agreement.

"However, I still need to inform the commander about this matter. I can only move troops to surround the enemy with the commander's approval," said Itagaki Seishiro. After all, the commander was his superior, and he naturally needed to inform the commander before he could move troops.

Without saying much, Itagaki Seishiro picked up the phone on the table and called Shinotsuka Yoshio.

Not long after, Yoshio Shinotsuka's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Itagaki-kun, how's the situation?! Are the troops moving according to plan?!" Yoshio Shinotsuka asked.

"Commander, the troops have already set off, but there's something even more serious now," said Seishiro Itaga, his voice filled with anxiety.

Because the Yamamoto Special Attack Corps was Commander Shinotsuka's brainchild, and yet they hadn't achieved any results before being ambushed by the enemy, and there was even a possibility of them being wiped out. He was afraid that the commander wouldn't be able to accept it.

"What is it?! Tell me quickly." Yoshio Shinotsuka was also a little flustered and hurriedly asked. He felt that something big must have happened. Even when the 33rd Brigade was ambushed, Seishiro Itagata had never been this flustered.

"Commander, you'd better be mentally prepared," said Itagaki Seishiro. He was very worried that the commander would be furious if he found out the situation!

"Speak." Yoshio Shinotsuka took a deep breath. If he wasn't mistaken, something had probably happened to Yamamoto's special forces.

Upon hearing this, Itagaki Seishiro stopped hiding his thoughts and quickly relayed the telegram sent by Tani Hisao. He could also hear that the commander's breathing became somewhat rapid as he listened.

"Commander, Commander, are you listening?!" After Itagaki Seishiro finished explaining the situation, all that could be heard on the other end of the phone was heavy breathing.

"Is the news confirmed?! The Yamamoto Special Attack Team really can't be contacted?!" Yoshio Shinotsuka took a deep breath and asked.

"We really can't get in touch with them. The communications room contacted Yamamoto's special operations team immediately after receiving the telegram, but there's still no reply."
Given the current situation, they would never fail to reply to the telegram unless something unexpected happened. Commander, why don't you try contacting them too?!" As Itagaki Seishiro spoke, his tone became cautious.

"Okay, I'll send someone to contact them. Don't hang up yet," Yoshio Shinotsuka replied. Soon, there was complete silence on the other end of the line.

Seishiro Itagata obediently didn't hang up the phone and waited quietly.

A few minutes later, Yoshio Shinotsuka's voice came through the phone again.

"I've already sent a telegram to contact Yamamoto's special forces, but you're right, they haven't replied to the telegrams, so they've most likely encountered an emergency."

That's why they didn't reply to the telegram; they probably really were attacked by that Northeast Army." Yoshio Shinotsuka sighed as he finished speaking.

He really didn't expect things to develop this way. Mu Jin was too thoughtful, and it could even be said that he had their psychology completely under his control.

"Commander, don't worry too much. The fighting strength of Yamamoto's special attack force is not much worse than that of the Northeast Army. They will definitely be able to break through!" Itagaki Seishiro comforted him.

That's what he said, but in his heart he already felt that Yamamoto's special forces were doomed. Mu Jin had done so much, all for the sake of Yamamoto's special forces. Therefore, the ambush that the other side had carefully prepared would not let Yamamoto's special forces escape so easily! "You and I both know that, under equal strength, it is extremely difficult for the ambush to break out!" Yoshio Shinotsuka sighed and said.

Let alone those of equal strength, even if they are not of equal strength, once they enter the ambush zone, the chances of heavy casualties are high.

Seishiro Itagaki fell silent.

"Commander, so I request that an additional brigade be transferred to participate in the encirclement and suppression, and that the puppet troops be allowed to assist, so that the force used to encircle and suppress the enemy reaches about 80,000 men," Itagaki Seishiro said after thinking for a moment.

With 50,000 soldiers and 30,000 puppet troops, they already have a numerical advantage. Although the puppet troops are somewhat weak in combat, they can still play a certain role, so they still have a chance.

“Okay, let’s do it your way.” Yoshio Shinotsuka nodded in agreement. He couldn’t think of a better solution right now. If they ignored the enemy, they would suffer even greater losses later. If they only focused on immediate gains without looking further ahead, the losses would be even greater.

"Yes!" Seishiro Itagaki nodded and said.

.........

On the other side, Xu Qingfeng looked at his watch. With three minutes left before the designated time, he picked up his walkie-talkie and contacted the artillery position, instructing the artillery to launch a fierce attack on the Japanese position in three minutes.

At the same time, the other soldiers were ready to charge, and a machine gun company was formed to suppress the Japanese with firepower during the charge.

Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the artillery positions immediately began a fierce bombardment of the Japanese positions. This time, Xu Qingfeng ordered all the artillery to be used, and the coverage area was much more intense than before.

Boom boom boom......

Da da da………

Bang bang bang…

As the shells landed in the trenches and made huge explosions, the soldiers also opened fire on the Japanese positions. For a moment, the Japanese were so badly beaten that they dared not raise their heads. They dared not hide in the bunkers, for fear that if they did, the enemy would rush into the trenches. As a result, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties under the fierce bombardment!

"Brigade Commander, this time the enemy's bombardment seems to cover an even larger area than before. Is the enemy planning to annihilate us all in one fell swoop?!" The Japanese regimental commander said in a panic from his bunker.

"Damn it, the enemy's artillery is all captured from us!" Nakajima Ichiro cursed. Judging from the range of the enemy's shells, they were about to launch a fierce attack. They might even be planning to annihilate them in one salvo.

"Immediately issue the order: we must stop the enemy's attack!" Nakajima Ichiro ordered. He knew that he had to get his soldiers to hold off the enemy, otherwise, they might really be going to die here today.

"Yes, sir!" The Japanese regimental commander nodded.
.........

By the time the fourth round of shelling ended, the soldiers in the trenches had already fixed their bayonets and were charging toward the Japanese positions, while the machine gun company was also suppressing the Japanese with firepower.

Boom boom boom......

When the fifth round of shelling ended, the soldiers had rushed to within fifty meters of the Japanese soldiers.

At this distance, the special operations soldiers had already taken out grenades and thrown them towards the Japanese trenches.

Boom boom boom......

Explosions rang out again, and the soldiers charged into the Japanese trenches. Taking advantage of the Japanese soldiers' inability to recover from the shelling, they attacked the Japanese soldiers.

Puff puff………

The special operations regiment's soldiers were extremely powerful, like a sharp blade, directly tearing through the Japanese defenses. In close combat, they dominated the Japanese.

They captured many of the Japanese positions, which greatly inspired the soldiers behind them, who then displayed even greater fighting power.

In an instant, the battlefield descended into chaos as both sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat, with people falling every second and the sounds of battle echoing throughout the area.

From the battlefield perspective, Xu Qingfeng and his men clearly had the upper hand, with Japanese soldiers being killed one after another.

"Brigade Commander, the enemy has already stormed into the trenches and is engaged in close combat with our soldiers!" the Japanese regimental commander hurriedly reported. He had just witnessed his soldiers being easily killed by the enemy, who were cutting them down like vegetables. This was simply unbelievable to him.

Although they were bombarded and suffered some damage, the enemy was far too strong and could not be stopped by ordinary people. The number of their soldiers who fell was far greater than that of the enemy.

"Judging from the situation, we're probably not going anywhere today. Send a telegram to the division immediately, and then destroy the radio and codebook right away." Nakajima Ichiro calmly gave the order. They could die, but the radio and codebook could not be captured by the enemy, otherwise they would need to replace the codebook with a new one, which would be quite troublesome.

"Yes, sir!" The Japanese regimental commander nodded and immediately went to find the telegraph operator.

Meanwhile, Ichiro Nakajima peeked out from the edge of the trench to observe the battlefield. He could see the enemy rushing into the trench one after another to engage their soldiers.

Many of the enemies were extremely skilled in close combat, and their soldiers were no match for them, which Nakajima Ichiro found incredible.

But then I thought, those must be from that Northeast Army, so it's normal that they were strong in combat.

However, the Eighth Route Army soldiers were surprisingly strong. Their coordinated attacks, often in twos or threes, were so effective that they inflicted heavy casualties on the Eighth Route Army soldiers.

"That's not right! How could the Eighth Route Army be so strong in close combat?!" Nakajima Ichiro couldn't help but exclaim.

The key point is that the Eighth Route Army's bayonet fighting techniques were completely different from those he had known before; they were a brand new technique, and it seemed to be specifically designed to counter them.

On the mountain and in the trenches, Li Yunlong was itching to go and fight the Japanese, but Zhao Gang stopped him, and even Xu Qingfeng didn't go.

"Commander, just watch with peace of mind. This battle is over," Xu Qingfeng said slowly. (End of Chapter)